Essex Community Messaging Archive

09/2016

All about Dogs

Essex Watch have a stall at the ‘All About Dogs’ event this weekend at Hylands Park Chelmsford along with the ‘Dog Lost’ charity, signing up new members to ‘Dog Watch’ and providing information on protecting your pet. If you are coming along to the show please come over and meet the team. Sent by Terry.Fowles@essex.pnn.police.uk to Essex County.

08/2016

Essex Police has its new-look website giving people greater and easier access to our services. The new site, which still operates from our www.essex.police.uk address, will allow people to report non-emergency crimes and road traffic collisions as well as lost and found property. The website is easier to navigate, more accessible and is designed to be smartphone and tablet friendly. The site will also allow people to access online reporting services for fraud, hate crime, potholes, abandoned cars, street lighting and noise nuisance issues. The site also incorporates a link to the “AskThePolice’national website which provides answers to frequently asked policing questions avoiding the need for people to phone us. In 2009, when the previous Essex Police website was designed, more than 99 per cent of people using it accessed the site via a desktop computer. In 2015 75 per cent of visits to the Essex Police website came via smartphones and tablets. The new website, which was created by Reading Room following a competitive tender process, has been developed in collaboration with Kent Police to reduce costs. Each page of the site has been designed to offer users the opportunity to share to popular social media networks. We are continuing to develop the website and users can tell us what they think as each page has a simple feedback feature. This will not only help to understand what features of the site are popular but will enable people to highlight anything they don’t understand or any technical issues. We will continue to publish regular news, appeals and features to inform the public of Essex how Essex Police is keeping people safe. Keep in touch with all our latest news via the following: Web: www.essex.police.uk Twitter: www.twitter.com/essexpoliceuk YouTube: www.youtube.com/essexpoliceuk Facebook: www.facebook.com/essexpoliceuk Instagram: www.instagram.com/essexpoliceuk

07/2016

“I hadn’t bought a ticket... So how could I win a lottery?”

The aim of any Scammer is to part you and your money. Everyone should be on their guard as scammers are now using more sophisticated methods in their attempts to convince people that what they are offering is legitimate or official.

• Don’t be rushed – resist pressure to make a decision straight away.• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.• The letter has arrived unexpectedly. • You’ve never heard of the lottery or competition they are talking about and didn’t buy a ticket. • They are asking you to send money in advance. • You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get a prize.• You’re being urged to respond quickly so you don’t get time to think about it or talk to family and friends. • They are telling you to keep it a secret.

Stop scam mail

The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) allows you to have your name and address removed from mailing lists. To register for the free service, call 0845 703 4599 or visit mpsonline.org.uk.

Report to Royal Mail

If you do receive correspondence you believe to be from fraudsters, you can forward it to Royal Mail with a covering letter to Freepost, Scam Mail, PO Box 797, Exeter, EX1 9UN. You can also email scam.mail@royalmail.com or call 03456 113 413.

05/2016

Rural Crime Awareness Week-The following crime prevention message is aimed towards people living and working in rural locations. Check your boundaries – • Fencing hedges and walls should be robust, well maintained and checked regularly for breaches • Plant thick thorny hedges to act as natural boundaries. • Restrict vehicle access by digging deep ditches and creating bunds. • Identify weak spots that could provide access to criminals or vehicles and secure where necessary. Remove all private access points that are no longer used and establish a single gated entrance and exit, if possible.

Lighting/Alarm/CCTV• Consider installing a remote monitored audible alarm.• Illuminate areas which are overlooked from the dwelling (farmhouse) or covered by CCTV by using ‘dusk to dawn’ security lights. • To improve security for outbuildings and isolated locations consider building a perimeter – fences, CCTV, alarms where practical.• CCTV can provide surveillance on places out of view of the farmhouse.

Phone Scam - We are warning residents to be aware following a number of people in Southend reporting phone calls from fraudsters claiming to be from the victim's bank. The bogus callers quote the victim's name, bank details and address in an attempt to validate the call and claim that their bank accounts have been hacked and the victim needs safeguarding. They then tell the victim to give their bank cards and PINs to a member of staff who will attend their home address to collect them. Within minutes the suspects attend the property and withdraw money from the victim's accounts. Remember • Police or bank officials would never call you by telephone you and ask for your full bank details or ask you to withdraw large sums of cash. • If you think you have been a victim, call police from a different number. • If you don’t have another phone, use a neighbour’s, or wait five minutes before dialling 101 or 999 (if urgent). • Letters and bank statements contain sensitive information and should be shredded or destroyed before being discarded. Currently elderly victims are being targeted so please share this advice with elderly relatives, friends and neighbours who are not on social media. Author: West Pace Setter Distributed to West Essex

Marketing Scam - A new trend is targeting members of the public who are seeking to sell their wine investment. Fraudsters agree to purchase the victims wine, but instead transfer the stock into their own ac-count without paying the victim. The fraudulently obtained wine is then believed to be sold on to other, unsuspecting victims.How does this scam work?Fraudsters set up fake companies and websites as well as exploit the names of legitimate, es-tablished companies to facilitate this fraud. They cold-call the victims and offer to purchase their wine for significantly more than the actual market value. Fraudulent documents, such as purchase agreements, are used to facilitate the fraud and are sent to the victims via post and email. Some fraudsters have gone as far as setting up fake es-crow services in order to fool the potential sellers that the payments have been transferred. The fraudsters send the victims instructions to transfer their wine into storage accounts held within legitimate bonded warehouses. The victims are informed that upon doing this they will be paid the agreed amount. The use of storage accounts held within legitimate bonded ware-houses adds an air of legitimacy to the process but in actual fact these storage accounts are controlled by the fraudsters. Once the wine is transferred into the new storage accounts the suspects break off all contact with the victims. The wine is then moved again, normally within days and often abroad, and, needless to say, the victim never receives the money from the agreed sale.How to protect yourself• Never respond to unsolicited phone calls – if in doubt, hang up.• Always check that the details of the organisation or company contacting you (such as website, address and phone number) are correct – the fraudsters may be masquerading as a legitimate organisation.• Never sign over your wine (or any other investment) to another party without first checking they are authentic.• Don’t be fooled by a professional looking website, as the cost of creating a professional website is easily affordable.• Escrow services are regulated by the FCA under the Payment Services Directive 2009. Only deal with a registered Authorised Payment Institution. You can check the FCA register online.• Consider seeking independent legal and/or financial advice before making a decisionIf you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Consumer direct on 03454 040506 or Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or by using the online reporting tool.

04/2016

Special Constables.In the financial year 2015-2016, our Specials completed 104,577 hours of volunteer policing over 17,086 duties. Do you want to help fight crime whilst giving something back to your community? Many of our Special Constables have families and full-time jobs, and volunteer with us in their spare time. It’s a flexible role, and our volunteers only need to give a minimum of 16 hours a month as part of the team. Learn more about what it’s like to be part of the Special Constabulary: https://www.essex.police.uk/recruitment/special_constabulary/special_profiles.aspx

This week ‪#‎EP Supports‬ National Stalking Awareness Week. If you feel someone has an unhealthy interest in you or believe you are a victim of stalking, call Essex Police on 101. If you are in immediate danger dial 999. ‪#‎StalkingCounts‬ ‪#‎NSAW16‬ Follow below link for further details http://essex.police.uk/be_safe/personal_safety1.aspx

Doorstep/Rogue traders are operating in your area trying to obtain work related to block paved driveways, garden work or tree cutting, roofing or any other household repair or maintenance.

Never agree to have work carried out by traders who knock on your door offering these services and always thoroughly check out leaflets as addresses provided can be false with telephone numbers that stop working if you have a problem with the work. You can also be provided with guarantees that are worthless.

We would always advise residents to consider using one of our Buy With Confidence businesses who have been audited and approved by Trading Standards. The nearest three to your postcode can be found by calling the national consumer helpline on 03454 040506 or www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

We would ask all residents to look out for household repair and maintenance activity at the homes of elderly neighbours, friends or family members.

Residents who do get caught out by doorstep/rogue traders are often too embarrassed to report it. If you are concerned call the helpline with the information.

Brentwood's new “Community Policing Team” has been launched by Essex Police as part of a renewed commitment to local policing that puts partnerships with councils and other organisations at the heart of community safety.

The new teams will work in community safety hubs with partners like councils, other Emergency Services, Health providers, charities, Neighbourhood Watch and community groups. Their main focus will be on community safety priorities, solving local problems like high risk anti-social behaviour, local “hot spot” crimes, repeat victims or keeping the night time economy safe.

Assistant Chief Constable Maurice Mason says: “Our renewed commitment to local policing means new teams will work as one with our partners to protect people from harm, talk and listen to communities about their concerns, gather information and help find answers to local problems. Our ambition is for a seamless link with Community Safety Partnership teams across Essex, working together to tackle locally-agreed priorities.

Working alongside those teams will be all the other parts of Essex Police which keeps people safe. That’s three thousand officers working for a safer Essex, including specialist domestic abuse teams, emergency crews responding to 999 calls, detectives investigating serious crime, and our countywide roads policing teams, firearms and police dog teams and officers and staff dealing with cyber-crime and fraud.”

Chief Inspector Denise Morrissey, district commander of Brentwood and Epping Forest, adds: "My Community Policing Team will focus on protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities and problem solving around emerging crime and ASB issues.

"These may be issues such as dwelling burglary or the risks posed by street gangs. The Community Policing Team, along with partners, will also focus on reducing reoffending”.

Recently fraudsters have targeted victims by phone, purporting to be police officers in a number of various scams.

Methods include:

The victims being asked to give bank/card details.

The victims being asked to leave their bank cards/cash under their front door mat for 'police' to collect.

Advice:

• Police or bank officials would never call you by telephone youand ask for your full bank details or ask you to withdraw largesums of cash.

• If you think you have been a victim, call police from a differentnumber. The scam works by the victim thinking they have put thephone down to make another call to the bank, but the fraudsters arestill on the line.

• If you don’t have another phone, use a neighbour’s, or wait fiveminutes before dialling 101 or 999 (if urgent).

In person, genuine Police Officers will always be in possession of their warrant card, with their details, which you can check by phoning 101.